Note 11 — Chapter VII
Reading edition
Francis B. Gummere of Haverford college says of George Fox, the founder of the Society of Friends: "The central point of his doctrine is the direct responsibility of each soul to God, without mediation of priest or form, because of the presence of the Holy Spirit in the heart of every human being." Johnson's Universal Cyclopedia, 1894.
The following is authoritative for the Society: "We believe in no principle of life, light or holiness, but the influence of the Holy Spirit of God, bestowed on mankind, in various measures and degrees, through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is the capacity to receive this blessed influence, which, in an especial manner, gives man pre-eminence above the beasts that perish; which distinguishes him, in every nation and in every clime, as an object of the redeeming love of God; as a being not only intelligent but responsible;..."—"A Declaration of Some of the Fundamental Doctrines of Christian Truth, as held by the Religious Society of Friends."